Star Metro - Putin threatens to target any Western troops in Ukraine

Two dozen countries, led by France and Britain, pledged Thursday to join a "reassurance" force on land, at sea and in the air to patrol any agreement to end the conflict, unleashed by Russia in February 2022.

Tens of thousands have been killed in three-and-a-half years of fighting, which has forced millions from their homes and destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine in Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Kyiv says security guarantees, backed by Western troops, are crucial to any agreement, in order to ensure Russia does not re-launch its offensive in the future.

"If some troops appear there, especially now during the fighting, we proceed from the premise that they will be legitimate targets," Putin said at an economic forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.

He added that the deployment of such a force was not conducive to long-term peace and said Ukraine's closer military ties with the West were one of what he calls the "root causes" of the conflict.

Ukraine's allies have not revealed any specific details of the plan, including how many troops it would involve and how specific countries would contribute.

"We have today 26 countries who have formally committed -- some others have not yet taken a position -- to deploy as a 'reassurance force' troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea, or in the air," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Thursday, standing alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky hailed the move: "I think that today, for the first time in a long time, this is the first such serious concrete step."

The troops would not be deployed "on the front line" but aim to "prevent any new major aggression", the French president said.

- 'Coalition of the willing' -

US President Donald Trump has forced the two sides to open talks on how to end the conflict, though multiple rounds of diplomacy have failed to yield anything more than prisoner exchanges.

Moscow has stuck to its hard-line demands, calling for Ukraine to cede even more territory and completely renounce Western backing.

Kyiv has ruled those out as "old ultimatums."

Putin said Friday that if a deal could be struck, there was no need for the troops.

"If decisions are reached that will lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply don't see the point in their presence on the territory of Ukraine. Because if deals are reached, let no one doubt that Russia will comply with them in full," he said.

Ukraine and the West point to a long list of times Russia has broken agreements on Ukraine, dating back to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, a post-Soviet agreement that saw Kyiv give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances that Russia and other signatories, including the US and UK, would respect its independence and territorial integrity and refrain from the use of force.

Ukraine and many leaders in Europe have accused Putin of paying only lip-service to the idea of halting his offensive and playing for time while his troops capture more territory.

Putin earlier this week said his troops were advancing across the entire front line in eastern and southern Ukraine and that he would continue to fight if a peace deal was not reached.

The extent of any US involvement in a possible Western peacekeeping force remains uncertain and there are also divisions within the "coalition of the willing".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for instance, urged more pressure on Monday, but has remained cautious about the scope of involvement.

S.Clark--SMC